


A Gift Between Friends

by shimmer_like_agirl



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Prompt Fill, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 11:00:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13234278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmer_like_agirl/pseuds/shimmer_like_agirl
Summary: Prompt fill for pillarspromptsweekly #20: Gift. An overdue discussion with the Watcher yields unexpected results for Aloth.





	A Gift Between Friends

The night sky gleamed brilliantly overheard, illuminated by a moon that seemed at least three times its normal size. Aloth, disoriented with sleep, looked up with confusion. That wasn’t right, was it? Hadn’t it been heavily overcast when he’d fallen asleep? And hadn’t he gone to sleep in his tent? How has he ended up sleeping on the ground underneath the stars? If this was Eder’s idea of a prank, he was going to be very sorry.

With an irritated grumble he pushed himself up, but not without difficulty. His limbs were heavy and uncooperative and his mind was addled with sleep. Once on his feet, somewhat unsteadily, he looked around to better gauge his surroundings.

Behind him stood a vast field of grass that stood waist high and waved gently in a breeze that Aloth couldn’t feel. Ahead of him was a road, well travelled and winding through cultivated farmland, leading towards a familiar house in the distance. Even though he hadn’t been there in years, he immediately knew it to be his childhood home. Well, he certainly wasn’t going to head in that direction.

He turned to start making his way through the field of grass behind him only to find himself faced by an impenetrable wall of dark trees. As he stood there in exasperated silence, a thick tendril of white mist twisted towards his feet, circling both his legs. It seemed to be pulling him, urging him to the edge of the forest.

Even though he knew passing into the thick copse of trees to be impossible, Aloth took a step forward, becoming mildly alarmed as the trunks appeared to melt out of his path. Step after step they continued to dissolve in front of him, allowing him to walk ahead easily, if unnervingly. He wondered if the trees closed behind him again once he’d passed. A glance over his shoulder confirmed what he’d suspected.

The faint sound of a cry caught his ear and he stopped in his tracks. There were no other noises in these neverending woods. Although a wind breezed through his hair, it made no sound and neither did the branches that swayed in its wake. There was no way to pinpoint where the cry had come from, no easy indicator of where he should head. The mist that swirled around his feet seemed to be listing to the right. With no earthly idea of where he was and the complete absence of a plan, he altered his trajectory to the right and continued deeper into the woods.

Aloth couldn’t even be sure how long he spent walking before the faint cries became louder and closer. He picked up his pace and headed in the direction he was now sure they were coming from. The cries, while seemingly not uttered in pain, became more frenzied. He had no idea what would be waiting for him at his destination, it could be something incredibly dangerous, but he had to find out what had drawn him in this far.

Finally, he came to upon a clearing in the trees where he saw the source of the cries. Beside a silent, placid river sat a pale elf, head bowed with long silver hair covering their face. Aloth took a few tentative steps forward, involuntarily reaching out towards them. “Are you alright?” he called across the short distance between them. “Are you hurt? Do you need help?”

At the sound of his voice, the other elf turned in his direction. Their string of cries ended, only to be replaced by a low, drawn-out moan. When their mouth opened next he heard the familiar voice of the Watcher. “Oh gods, yes, Edér, please.”

Gasping for breath, Aloth sat up in his tent and looked around in a confused haze, shaking his head until the sleep cleared. “It was just a dream,” he said quietly to himself and laid back down. Listening for a few seconds told him that, no, it hadn’t all been a dream. He groaned and pulled the pillow over his head to try and muffle the sounds. It wasn’t enough. It never was. “This is ridiculous.” The words were whispered even though he knew they’d never hear them. How could they? He didn’t begrudge them for finding each other so...compatible. In times like these, it was undoubtedly nice to find someone to make life slightly more enjoyable. He just wished they weren’t so frequent and enthusiastic about it. “I’m going to say something about it tomorrow.” The promise he made to himself wasn’t the first of such, but he was determined at that sleepless moment to follow through this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They’d just wrapped up a skirmish with a small group of xaurips when the opportunity presented itself. Edér had gone off to search the surrounding area for any stragglers and Durance was...somewhere. It wasn’t going to get any better than this. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “Adira, do you have a moment?”

The Watcher finished up pulling the last of her arrows out of one of the larger xaurips and turned to greet him with her characteristically warm smile. “For you? Always.” She had this way of making anyone she talked to feel like it was the most important thing she could be doing. It didn’t make what he wanted to say any easier.

“Would you say we’re friends?”

“Of course I would, Aloth,” she answered immediately without a hint of hesitation. “We haven’t known each other that long, but circumstances like ours tend to bring people together more quickly than they would normally. We need friends and I’m happy to count you as one of mine.”

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Alright then. As your friend, I need to say something. It’s probably going to come out incredibly awkwardly, but keep in mind that I hold you in the highest regard and wouldn’t bring this up unless I absolutely had to.”

Adira laughed somewhat nervously even as she reached out to squeeze his hand. “I promise I won’t take offense to any words that come out of your mouth. We should be able to be honest with each other.”  
“Honesty is good.” Aloth glanced down at his hands before returning to meet her gaze once again. “Here’s the thing. I know that you and Edér have recently begun...spending time together...and I’m happy for you, really I am. It’s just...at night you’re awfully loud and I can hear everything.” This was even more difficult than he’d imagined and he found he could no longer look her in the eye. “I mean...when I say ‘you’ I don’t just mean you. Edér’s really loud, too. Between the two of you, it’s a wonder I can get any sleep at all.” His tongue was running away from him now, saying things he hadn’t planned on. “Oh my god, Aloth, please stop talking.”

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected her reaction to be, but it certainly wasn’t the amiable laughter that tumbled from her lips. “Oh my dear,” she said, reaching over to press a hand against his flaming cheek. “Is that what’s been bothering you all day?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she said sincerely. “I didn’t realize how loud we were being. If I’m honest, the thought never even crossed my mind that it might bother anyone else. I apologize that we’ve made you so uncomfortable.”

Before he could even start formulating a response to that, she turned and headed towards one of her packs. She returned after a few minutes of rummaging with a small box. “What’s that?”

“A gift between friends.” Adira grinned and pushed the box into his hands. “I can’t promise that we’ll always remember to be quiet, but this should help with that.” Inside the box sat two tiny, tightly wound balls of cloth. “Earplugs,” she provided helpfully. “I had them enchanted so they keep out all noise. I thought it might help me sleep better, but my problems are beyond the realm of sound. I imagine they’ll be much more useful for you.”

“I imagine they will.” A warmth spread through him at her thoughtful gesture. It was an unfamiliar, but not unwelcome feeling. “Thank you, my friend.”


End file.
